


White Noise

by becki



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, Sleepy Cuddles, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, this is for the “comfort” prompt in a prompt list you better expect some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26994544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becki/pseuds/becki
Summary: From all those years connected to a hivemind, Hordak has grown accustomed to constant noise in his mind. However, even after being severed from said connection, he eventually found himself with another being who eased the quiet in his mind - Entrapta, all bubbly laughter and technological babble and lively speech.But it turns out being separated once more is harder than he thought.
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 110





	White Noise

**Author's Note:**

> so, this was inspired by a daily entrapdak prompt list by tallysgreatestfan on tumblr! i knew i wasn’t going to be able to do all (or many) of the prompts because of irl responsibilities and all that, but i still wanted to participate a bit! i’m hoping to do a couple more prompts, so we’ll see what i can do!
> 
> anyway, here’s a little one shot for day 13: “comfort” :)

Some nights are better than others for Hordak.

Some nights, sleep comes easily. The wear and tear of the day will have taken enough of its toll on him, making the comfort of crawling into bed something he covets before peaceful darkness and vivid dreams follow. By morning, he’s well rested, and he can thank the uninterrupted night for that.

But some other nights, it doesn’t. Sleep refuses him, leaving him in a fit of internal rage as he tries and tries and  _ tries  _ to just wind down and get the required sleep he needs. Only, to no avail. The desire for rest ignores him, and by morning come, he’s stuck feeling weak, bothered, and frankly bitter at anything the day’s plans have got ready to throw at him.

Tonight is one of those nights.

It would’ve been fine if he had slept the past few nights. His alien species doesn’t require rest as often as Etherians do, and using that to his advantage, he had spent the long nightly hours working on one of his and Entrapta’s projects in their now-shared lab. However, he still has to get rest at  _ some  _ point, and it’s certainly starting to get to him now. He  _ needs  _ to just get a bit of sleep tonight, or he’s positive tomorrow will not be a good day.

But it just  _ isn’t working. _

He wishes he could lie to himself the reason why, but he already knows it deep down - deep down inside where he buries the rest of his feelings, hides the rest of his vulnerabilities. 

It’s because of Entrapta, as most of his weaknesses involve.

Well, it’s not because of anything she  _ did _ . But more so the situation. She left early this evening for Bright Moon, for a meeting led by the queen is being held there tonight. She probably wouldn’t have even gone if it wasn’t a required event for her as an Etherian Princess, especially since Hordak wasn’t invited as he isn’t royalty of any kind or frankly desired at all there. Unfortunately, she had to attend, and she had to attend alone. She ended up leaving several hours ago, and before she headed out, she mentioned how she expected her arrival to be late into the night.

Now, it’s past midnight. There’s still no sign of her. Hordak doesn't know when she’ll be back. And he’s stuck in their large shared bed, tossing and turning and unable to sleep without her by his side.

He would never admit it, not in a million years, but the concept of being alone now...terrifies him. Perhaps it was due to the fact that, long ago, he was constantly connected to the hivemind of clones. There was always chatter, always sensations, always thoughts, always  _ something  _ darting around in his mind like a wild errant bouncing ball set loose. And that chaos...It was natural. It was familiar.

So when he landed on Etheria and was disconnected from the hivemind, becoming absent of those sounds, coming to an end of that constant noise in his head...

It was the worst part. He felt almost unwhole.

He got used to it as time went on, of course. Being alone in his sanctum became the norm, and in all honesty, the quiet and loneliness was far better than having to interact with his soldiers or force captains. He would rather be a shut in if it meant not having to deal with these Etherians that he could never understand, could never grow to bond with.

But, with Entrapta…

Chatter began to fill his once-silent sanctum. Laughter and giggling bounced off the walls. Streams of monologue and ideas poured into her recorder and echoed throughout the room. Murmuring and whisperers and sing-song humming flooded his ears. She wasn’t one for quiet, and once more, that familiar noise seemed to make home in his mind. 

It felt whole again. Comfortable.

And even now, living in Dryl together after the war, the constant noise that comes with Entrapta never seems to go away. During the day as they work, her insightful chatter will always liven up their lab and swirl around the room. As they travel here and there to various places, she will always have something to comment about, always having something to note, always have something to bring up. As they sit during some much-needed downtime to read or draw or simply  _ be,  _ she will always be humming, or tapping her fingers, or mumbling under her breath. And through the night, Hordak will always be able to hear her soft breathing against his chest, or her familiar snoring, or the way she occasionally talks in her sleep about some strange happening in her dreams.

Right now, on the other hand…

He’s all alone. He’s stuck in the shared bed without her warmth by his side, and even worse, he’s unable to hear anything but dreadful silence, silence, and _more_ _terrible silence._

He turns on his side once more, now facing the window that outlooks the kingdom of Dryl. He studies the way the moonlight castes blankets of milky light across the rocky mountains, the trees, and the occasional bushes. He can hear some faint wind that rustles the leaves of said trees and bushes, but the sound is so far away, so mute, that it provides no distraction or sense of ease.

His mind is empty and quiet, just as it once was upon his awful arrival on this strange and backwater planet. And he despises it.

His fatigued gaze starts to carry over across the room towards where Entrapta’s bot, Emily, usually recharges her battery. Even the familiar mechanical hum she gives off as she gathers power would be acceptable white noise for the night. But of course, as convenient as all things are for Hordak, she’s not in their room for tonight. She’s acquiring a new update to her systems, leaving her currently plugged in by some large cord all the way in the lab where she can properly download it.

Figures.

Hordak pulls the heavy blanket up higher, drawing it even closer to his chin. It’s warm, despite the lesser amount of body heat he gives off compared to Entrapta, and he’s generally content in that sense. And as his eyes contain to aimlessly wander around the dimly lit room in a tired daze, he tells himself that he should be able to sleep. He tells himself that he’s reasonably comfortable enough in their bed, that his muscles aren’t aching too badly right now and that’s an added benefit to making things easier to fall asleep, that he doesn’t need to hear Entrapta’s familiar breathing or snores or voice or  _ anything  _ to sleep and that it’s foolish and strange to wish for such things even if-

Wait.

Hordak’s gaze suddenly freezes, fixated on a particular object.

It’s Entrapta’s recorder.

Hordak sits up a bit, leaning on his one elbow, to get a closer look. The recorder sits openly on the dresser, illuminated by the moonlight to clearly define its outline and features. 

He quirks a brow to himself. Entrapta  _ never  _ goes anywhere without her recorder - it’s almost as important to her as her gloves and mask are. So, to see it now sitting there without her strikes him as odd. Well, to be fair, she  _ did  _ leave for the meeting in a hurry, so perhaps she had simply forgotten it. That would make sense.

Hordak sits himself fully upright on the bed. The blanket drapes off his shoulders and bunches at his waist, leaving his shoulders exposed to the chilly air. And as he sits there in the dark, shivering ever-so-slightly with his arms instinctively wrapping around his body for extra warmth, he simply stares at the recorder with a contemplative gaze.

It’s where she verbally records her notes and thoughts, isn’t it?

...And it would fill the empty silence, right?

Hordak fully draws the blanket off his legs. He heads over to the dresser where it sits, and he grabs a hold of the recorder. The surface of it is cold to the touch, causing a shiver to race down his spine, but he ignores it as he turns the tech around in his hand.

There are multiple buttons, and he quirks a brow in confusion as he tries to figure out which exactly to click. His one claw hovers over the various buttons, his mind indecisive; but, in the end, he simply goes for a guess and holds down one button at random.

All of a sudden, a tone that sounds like a rewind plays, and it continues the longer he holds it down. After a few seconds of this, he lifts his claw off the button and releases it, and Entrapta’s familiar voice fills the room.

_ “.....-og day 68 post war and destruction of Horde Prime. Hordak’s new armor seems almost complete, though a few more advancements are needed before I can give it to him. Well, it’s already functional as it is, but I want to add some more enhancements to make it even better than his last one! Oooh, he’s gonna love it!” _

Her words end with a little squeal of pure excitement, and a fond gush of warmth floods his body. He smirks a bit to himself, unable to bite back a smile, as he lets the recording continue.

_ “I could possibly implement a new First Ones’ crystal to power this new one more efficiently, since the last one holds a little less power. But, to be honest, I really liked that last one. It’s...special, I think. I guess I’ll just have to figure out how to reroute the-“ _

Hordak leaves the recording to play as he turns the recorder to the side, finding a small nozzle there. Sure enough, as he turns said nozzle, the volume decreases a bit. He spends a few moments doing so until the volume is to his liking - loud enough to be audible, but quiet enough to not be disruptive. Satisfied, and with the recorder in hand, he treks back to the bed.

He crawls under the covers, allowing the welcoming heat to blanket him. As he rests his head on the flattened pillow, his body resting on his side, he brings the recorder up and lays it flat on the empty space in the bed that usually is occupied by Entrapta. From there, he can still hear it perfectly well.

_ “Okay, commencing trial of support capabilities of the left bicep for Hordak’s armor. Three, two, on-...H-hey Emily! Get away from those exposed cables, they’re gonna shock your syst-“ _

Another small smile makes way onto Hordak’s lips. His eyes drift shut and his muscles relax atop the cushiony mattress as Entrapta’s voice carries from the recorder, filling the silence in his mind and easing the tension within him. 

_ “...Emily, I’m not mad, I’m just looking out for you. Hey, alright, don’t beep at me like that!...Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get this armor done, and it’s been taking a while with all these finishing touches, and...Yeah, yeah. I know you’re bored. Well, okay then, do you wanna help?...Alright, great! Grab me a…” _

Hordak begins to drift towards unconsciousness, and Entrapta’s words start to fade away into nothingness. Her soft voice, familiar and bubbly and gentle in all ways unique to her, is the last thing he hears.

And for the first time this entire evening, he’s truly comfortable.

**_~~~_ **

Entrapta yawns, bringing one gloved hand up to cover her mouth while the other tiredly rubs her eyes. Her body feels awfully heavy as she treks through the dark hallways of the Crypto Castle, and with that said, she’s more than grateful she has the layout of her labyrinth completely memorized. Otherwise, she’s not sure if she would be able to focus hard enough to figure her way around the confusing maze given how late it is.

Honestly, she thought the meeting back in Bright Moon would’ve ended at least a  _ bit  _ earlier. And while she knew it was going to run late, she never expected it to be  _ this  _ long.

Not as if the other princesses cared. Most of them are staying the night there, as they so often do after important meetings. And, sure, Entrapta was invited to stay. But, the invitation offered by Adora was spoken in that stiff, almost awkward way that Entrapta has learned by now is never genuine - just politeness. Always just politeness and never anything beyond that.

And to be honest, even if they really wished for her to stay, she probably wouldn’t have even wanted to. She would much rather be here with Hordak, not away in some large kingdom surrounded by unknown variables, different people, various unplanned conversations and lots of small talk.

Crypto Castle is better.  _ Home  _ is better.

Another yawn interrupts her train of thought, and she blinks back to focus. Not that it’s much focus, anyway - just watching her legs carry one foot in front of the other, again and again and again until she can finally reach their bedroom. She knows using her hair to carry her would be much faster, but she’s honestly too fatigued to really even lift it right now. It drags behind her, limp and weak and done with the day. Just about how she feels right now.

Oh well - Entrapta’s certain she’s almost near their bedroom. After all, she just passed by the lab and-

_ Wait. _

She freezes in place, a realization popping into her mind.

_ Hordak might be in there. _

She knows Hordak has been working in there the past few nights, saying he’d rather do as such instead of sleep. And she also knows he doesn’t need as much as she requires, being an alien species and all, and he seems to have been using that to his advantage to get more work done lately. Honestly, Entrapta can’t help but envy him - it’s a shame she can’t fit in the extra nighttime hours like he can, given that fact that she  _ does  _ need more rest, and she needs it daily.

With all these things in mind, Entrapta back tracks her steps towards the lab. She unlocks the code, not even having to waste her energy thinking about it after having done it so many times, and the door opens.

She peers in, only to find it completely dark and empty. She takes a few steps in, and sure enough, there’s no sign of him anywhere. There  _ is  _ a pale bit of light in the one corner, but as she looks in that direction, she finds only Emily there, hooked up to a piece of machinery and downloading her needed updates that Entrapta had set up for her to do tonight. 

Other than that, the lab is devoid of life.

Meaning, no Hordak.

Meaning, he must be in the bedroom.

A soft smile grazes Entrapta’s lips at the realization. Ever since the war and Hordak’s move-in to Crypto Castle, she soon learned that she enjoys sleeping with someone by her side much more opposed to sleeping alone. Before this realization, she always just assumed that she preferred being by herself at night; after all, that’s all she had ever known. However, she quickly learned otherwise, both from how sleeping next to Hordak made her feel in general  _ and  _ based on concrete data. 

Improved sleep quality, 78% lowered risk of stress throughout the day, decreased probability from 89% to 36% of waking during the night - they were all facts she gathered from her own little studies. And data  _ never  _ lies.

So, knowing now that he finally decided to leave work away for one night doesn’t fail to make Entrapta a big more eager to return to their bedroom. She shuts the lab door behind her, and with her tired legs dragging her along, she continues the rest of the journey through the labyrinth there.

It doesn’t take too long, as she previously predicted. Once she finally reaches the door to their bedroom, she begins to type in the code, her fingers flying over the keypad in muscle memory while-

Entrapta stops.

She quirks a brow.

There’s...a noise. And it seems to be coming from the other side of the door. Is it some piece of tech that turned on overnight? Is it a voice? Entrapta can’t really tell. She brings her ear up to the door’s surface, trying to better hear and gauge what exactly the sound is.

And oddly enough, after a few seconds of listening, she realizes that it almost sounds like…

... _ her _ voice?

Entrapta steps back a bit, her one eyebrow continuing to raise. That wouldn’t make sense. Is she just hearing things now? She’s not  _ that  _ tired, is she?

Oh well. With a shrug and yet another yawn, Entrapta finishes typing in the rest of the code and unlocks the door. She steps into the dark bedroom, listening carefully to find the source of whatever the noise is.

And that’s when she realizes she  _ isn’t  _ delusional.

_ “Okay, trial number one of support capabilities of Hordak’s new armor is a success! Tomorrow, I’ll have to run a few more tests, but I expect the armor to be ready very soon! It’s a good thing I was able to figure out how to…” _

Entrapta’s heart stutters a bit at the sound of her own voice. She’s used to it by now, having to rewind her recorder and video recordings to rewatch her various logs and lab experiments, but it still is strange to hear every time as most people feel when they hear their own voice.

After the short initial shock washes away, she glances around the dark room to find the source. She already knows what it must be - her recorder, documenting the results of one of her latest projects. That is, her project that involved creating Hordak new armor ever since his last one was removed and possibly destroyed by Horde Prime. The new armor she made was a huge success, and Entrapta knows it’s probably stored away somewhere in the bedroom given that Hordak wears it nearly every day but takes it off at night to sleep.

After a couple more moments of searching pass by, Entrapta finds her recorder sitting on top of the bed, illuminated by the moonlight.

Right next to Hordak.

Intrigued, Entrapta walks over, and she hovers over the bed. Upon closer examination, she realizes that Hordak is asleep. He lays facing the recorder, and the warm blanket that they always share drapes over his body. The recorder rests on the mattress beside him, droning on and on about Entrapta’s one project at a soft, quiet volume.

She can’t help but chuckle a bit under her breath at the sight, something warm making home in her heart and spreading throughout her body. Her smile is soft and fond on her lips, and she puts both her hands on her hips.

“You’re so weird,” Entrapta whispers in teasing, as if Hordak could possibly hear her. He doesn't, of course, and fails to respond. A few more light laughs escape her before she adds, “Couldn't leave you alone for just one night, huh?”

At that, she reaches down to pick up the recorder and turn it off. Her voice cuts out, flooding the room with silence, and Entrapta catches movement in the corner of her eyes. She looks down to see Hordak shift a bit in his sleep, probably disturbed by the sudden quiet and lack of white noise that was her voice. Finally, he settles and goes still once more.

Entrapta then turns on her heels and places the recorder on its rightful place on her dresser. From there, she peels off her arm covers and overalls - her favorite ones that she always tends to wear - and tosses them in a messy heap on the floor; she’ll just have to deal with the wrinkles in the morning. She takes off her gloves and mask as well, placing them side-by-side on top of the dresser.

She considers changing into new clothes for bed - clothes that aren’t just a grey tee and tight black shorts she wore during the day - but in all honesty, she’s just too exhausted to care. Not that Hordak would, either.

Finally ready to turn in for the night, Entrapta walks back to the bed, lifts the blanket, and starts to crawl in. Hordak seems to notice the disruption, even in sleep, for he begins to shift a bit. His one claw reaches out, lazily searching around on top of the mattress. And all of a sudden, it finds something - the ends of Entrapta’s one pigtail that’s draped on top of the mattress. It freezes on top of her hair, as if satisfied with whatever it was searching for, and slowly holds onto her hair. It’s a weak grasp, given that he’s asleep, yet clearly an attempt to hold it so all the same.

A sudden burning heat makes home on her cheeks at the sight, and her heart seems to stutter in her chest. She giggles softly in response as a small, fond smile lifts the corners of her lips.

On instinct, she curls the ends of her one pigtail to grasp Hordak’s hand. She does it gently, yet firm and sturdy nonetheless. A reassurance that she’s there, that it  _ is  _ her.

And the hint of a small, seemingly-satisfied smile appears on Hordak’s lips.

Entrapta can’t help but smile as well to herself, her face burning up in ways that she’s grateful could never be seen in the dimly lit room, before she fully crawls into the bed. She drapes the blanket overtop her as well, encasing her body in an inviting warmth, and she huddles in closer against Hordak’s chest. He mumbles something in his sleep as he huddles closer as well, one arm carefully wrapping around Entrapta even in his unconsciousness. It holds onto her securely, though tender and gentle all the same.

Entrapta sighs in contentment. She closes her eyes, resting her head fully against Hordak’s chest and listening to his faint heartbeat. It always stutters, having a bit of an echo to it, yet it’s familiar and calming.

And as she starts to fall asleep, the world becoming nothing but white noise around her, she understands why Hordak put on the recorder.

Everyone has their own comforts. And Entrapta is glad that theirs are each other.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! i hope you enjoyed <3
> 
> (come say hi on tumblr!! i’m beckkii over there :))


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